You know our good friend Roni, she drops by the Diet Blog from time to time and we love it when she does. 
She’s been chronicling her experience with weight loss and Weight Watchers over at WeightWatchen.com for some time; but recently, packed up her things and moved to her new home at RonisWeigh.com. We asked her to look at some of the questions you often ask about Weight Watchers- and she has provided answers to 11 of those. We hope this helps on your own personal journey.
1. How many meals do you eat each day?
Surprisingly, that is a tough question. Since losing the weight and maintaining for over 2 years my concept of meals have changed. I can say I always eat breakfast and dinner with my family, so that’s 2. But everything in the middle could be considered a “snack”. I eat something when I’m hungry, weather it be a piece of fruit, a sandwich, leftovers, handful of nuts, yogurt. Sometimes, yes, I have a traditional “lunch” but more often then not I snack my way through the day.
2. How do Points affect pregnant/nursing women? How should they adjust their Points totals?
I followed Weight Watchers Flex while nursing for 8 months and it was a great plan for me to be accountable during that tough post baby time. For moms who are exclusively nursing, 10 points should be added to their daily targets. If your baby is having formula or starting solids, then you add 2 points per nursing session up to 10 a day.
3. There are 35 Flex Points/week? Does everyone get these?
Yup! Everyone. Even those strange CORE people! ;~P
A lot of Weight Watchers folks think they should skip them to lose faster, but they are built into the plan for a reason. My philosophy is to use them when I’m still hungry at the end of the day or I save them up for special occasions.
4. How does exercise influence Points?
There is a formula to add points to your daily target when you exercise. It’s based on the length and intensity of the workout. Activity Points (AP), we call them, aren’t introduced until the third week of the program, I believe.
5. Do I have to go to meetings?
You don’t have to, although I found them very helpful. Weight Watchers has an online program as well. If you choose not to attend meetings, I would recommend weighing in at home with a friend or joining an online community like BlogToLose. The support and accountability really helps!
6. Why do Points calculations only take in the first 4 grams of Fiber?
The higher the fiber content of the food the lower the points. I believe the story is that people would manipulate the points of food by adding extra fiber through unnatural means, like sprinkling fiber supplements on cereal, just to get a lower point value. The point isn’t to manipulate the points by unhealthy means so Weight Watchers capped them.
7. Can you expect to see weight loss with Weight Watchers in the first month?
Yes! Especially if you follow the healthy guidelines. Most people lose at least a few pounds (some of it water weight) their first week as there body is getting used to a more portion controlled healthy diet.
8. If you stick to your allotted Points each week- what is the anticipated weight loss? Does the higher or lower end of that range affect weight loss?
Great question that I eluded to earlier. The expected Weight Loss is 1-2 pounds a week. That is the goal of the point allocation. Eating less or more points would of course affect that, but if you stay with your daily target and the 35 weekly points, 1 pound permanent weight loss is the weekly goal. As funny as it sounds, you need to eat to lose, so going below your daily target is not recommended.
9. Can or should children/teens under age 18 participate in Weight Watchers?
I’m not sure I’d recommend any child going on a “diet”. This is, of course, only my opinion but children should be taught healthy habits and not worry so much about “dieting”.
10. I’ve reached my goal weight. How do I determine Points to maintain my weight?
The maintenance plan is tricky. Weight Watchers has you add 4 points to your daily target for a week and then evaluate your weight. If you’ve gained, then drop your new target by 2; if you’ve lost, add 4 more. Most people I’ve talk to in maintenance eat about 10 points over their weight loss target to maintain.
11. Is the weight range for Points goal weight or current weight?
Current weight and as you lose it will change. I started at 26 I think, by the time I reached goal I was at 20.
Learn more about Weight Watchers Points here at DietsInReview.
August 4th, 2008
User Feedback
(Page 1 of 1, 5 total comments)Jason
Thank you for the info about maintenance. I just recently hit my goal weight of 185, losing 114 lbs. over the last 2 years. Now just looking to "maintain". thanks again.
posted Feb 10th, 2011 8:34 pmclaudia
okay so i just wanted to know. how much points is 1 and 1/2 cup serving of a pinneaple italian ice?....ive been searching everywhere and cant find anything!
posted Jun 17th, 2010 8:57 pmAnna
I recalculcated every 10 pounds I lost - sometimes I'd go ahead and drop that extra point from my daily target when I still had about 2 pounds to go (eg. at 152 lbs, I'd adjust down as if I was in my 140s).
posted May 12th, 2010 5:58 pmJenni
HI. Okay, so how often should i recalculate my points? Like every ten lbs i lose or every month or two? I am not sure when to refigure?
posted Feb 14th, 2010 3:41 pmjim
Thanks for the info on maintenance points. I have done WW in the past, but started following it on my own on 5/1/2009 and am down 40lbs. Am 6'4" and started at 311 pounds. Dr. said that my goal weight is 225.
posted Jul 14th, 2009 1:41 pm